Fueled by the downturn in the economy and a rise in illegal use of prescription drugs, crime has surged locally and across New England, law enforcement officials say.

“It’s the pills, and they inevitably lead to heroin abuse,” said East Bridgewater Sgt. Scott Allen. “It’s the No. 1 problem we’re facing with right now.”

The WEB Major Crimes and Drug Task Force – a team of police from West Bridgewater, East Bridgewater, Bridgewater, Whitman and Bridgewater State University – is in the midst of one of its busiest stretches ever.

In East Bridgewater, for example, crime more than doubled from 2006 to 2007 and has remained steady ever since.

In Easton, police say break-ins are up 25 percent compared to a year ago, though for reasons unclear.

According to the federal Drug Enforcement Administration’s 2010 National Drug Threat Assessment, New England reported the highest levels of prescription drug abuse contributing to violent and property crimes.

In both 2008 and 2009, 25 percent of New England agencies reported a connection. Compare that to 22 percent in the Great Lakes in 2009 and just 1 percent in the Southwest.

Locally, in East Bridgewater, everything from car break-ins to swindling to simple larceny – all crimes police say can be related to increased drug use – spiked four years ago. While numbers dropped slightly in 2010, they’ve remained relatively consistent over the five-year span.

Data provided to The Enterprise track a variety of crimes from 2006 to May of this year, with frequency organized by month. The findings are striking:

In 2006, East Bridgewater police received reports of 226 offenses.

In 2007, 456 crimes were reported – more than 50 thefts from motor vehicles, 61 burglaries and more than 130 other types of larceny.

In 2008, the total dropped slightly, with 448 reports, followed by a rise to 482 reported crimes in 2009.

The recession is also a factor, officials said, with people feeling the strain of trying to make ends meet.

“That’s when we see (reports of) bad checks go up,” said East Bridgewater Police Chief Cowan. “Drunk driving goes up. Domestic (cases) go up, because you have people with more stress.”

And while the recession fuels more crime, it also restricts the resources available to the town. Since 2000, the East Bridgewater police department has been reduced from 25 to 20 officers, meaning police have needed to get more “creative,” Allen said, in investigations.

Foreclosures – another outcome of the recession – have led to a rise in certain crimes when thousands of foreclosed homes were left vacant.

“How do you protect against a house being broken into when they steal the copper piping?” Cowan said. “We don’t find out for a period of time that they houses were even entered.”

Page 2 of 2 - But drug abuse – desperate addicts looking for a fix – may be the biggest favor in the rise of some crimes.

Allen, who heads the regional WEB Task Force, estimated that of the burglaries, break-ins and other thefts, 80 percent of suspects tell police they are hooked on heroin or prescription drugs.

“It’s gotten to the point where it’s out of control,” he said.

Since October, he said WEB has made 20 drug arrests, collected more than $40,000 in cash believed to be proceeds of drug sales and secured nearly 3,000 Percocet pills with a street value of nearly $70,000.

He said it may be the busiest six-month period during his 12 years with the task force.

“It’s so easy to obtain Percocet, even lawfully,” he said. “I think that factoring in with the poor economy, it’s a recipe for disaster.”

The cost of prescription drugs is a catalyst, Allen said.

Percocet pills, for example, can have a street value of $30 apiece, he said. An addict needing five per day – not uncommon, Allen said – is facing a $1,000-per-week habit.

“It’s a problem,” said Joseph Miksch, chairman of the East Bridgewater Board of Selectman. “And I don’t (know) how we’re ever going to solve it.”

But towns served by WEB aren’t unusual in seeing a rise of addiction-related crime.

According to the DEA’s drug threat study, the number of state and local agencies reporting prescription drugs as their greatest drug threat more than doubled from 4.6 percent in 2007 to 9.8 percent in 2009.